I get equipment questions emailed to me weekly. The most recent was from a reader asking if the cheap soft boxes available on Amazon are any good.

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I’ve written about a few different soft boxes in the past. One is the Westcott uLite and the other is the LimoStudio 700W Photography Softbox kit. I’ve been recommending the Westcott uLite, and a reader asked me about the LimoStudio light, so I fully compared the two.

If you watched the video above, it might seem I’m a little angry in it. You can imagine with the shenanigans going on with the LimoStudio light, it took a bit of my time. I’m quite surprised at all the good reviews of the LimoStudio light. If you saw the video, you noticed I brought up the fact that the manufacturer has clearly had so many issues with the light heads not working that they had to make a “fix-it” video on youtube.

This fix-it video showed taking a flat head screwdriver to the light socket and bending two metal tabs in it. The two metal tabs bent like aluminum foil. At least they said to make sure the light was turned off! I would have said to unplug the dang thing. Well, I did this to the non-working light. I put the bulb back in, plugged it in and turned it on only to hear all kinds of cracking and snapping – you know, those really bad electrical sounds that you NEVER want anything electric to sound like. Yeah, those. So I immediately yanked the cord from the power.

This light has a ton of good reviews on Amazon. It’s just my opinion, but I think a lot of those reviews were bought. If they had to make a youtube video explaining how to dangerously “fix” the light, there is no way that many people were happy with it.

The LimoStudio customer service is actually really good. They followed up with me and they sent me all kinds of extra stuff I didn’t need. They went above and beyond.

Anyway, that being said, the Westcott light had only four reviews. The one review that said the bulb popped on him, left me suspicious. You are not supposed to touch these high wattage bulbs. The oil from his skin can actually be what made that bulb pop if he touched it. I personally have never had a 500W bulb pop on me – in 25 years. So please don’t let those reviews put you off of this light.

This bulb is 11 inches long and 4 inches wide, huge!

The major difference between these two lights are the bulbs. The LimoStudio kit uses CFL bulbs, compact fluorescents. These things are HUGE! They are supposed to last a very long time too, which would be ok, if they were only as bright as they are rated to be.

This light is supposed to put out light that equals 350W. Well, when compared to the 500W bulb, (which is obviously brighter to start with), when reading both bulbs in the same position from the set, with a light meter, the CFL bulb really equalled 125W.

Above is my set. This is with the Wescott light. See the black light meter on the surface? I didn’t move that at all, and I switched the tungsten Wescott light for the CFL light.

It’s a little hard to see, the light meter reading on the left says F4 at 1/8th of a second. The meter on the right says F8 at 1/8th of a second. This is a difference of two stops of light. That’s a big difference. It should only be different by less than half a stop of light. Which means it should have read a little over F5.6.

The other test I did was for color temperature. I wanted to know how our cameras would handle each light set to Auto White Balance and then set to the white balance that the camera has for each light source.

Here is the same shot with the soft box that has the tungsten bulb in it. On the left, the camera was set to Tungsten WB and on the right, the camera was set to Auto WB.

Notice how different the images are above with color. My Canon cameras tend to make very warm images with Tungsten light when the camera is set to AWB. I prefer the image on the left. There’s no right or wrong here UNLESS I am selling that bowl. Then color accuracy is a big deal. Especially if you are photographing something for a sponsored post.

These shots were taken with the CFL bulb in the soft box it came with.

With the images above, you can see the different white balance settings used. This bulb has a color temperature rating of 5000K. That is equivalent to daylight white balance. However, this is a fluorescent bulb and we all know that fluorescent lights have an ugly green tint to them so my WB setting of daylight, made the image look very green.

Then with the camera set to fluorescent WB, the image got too blue. So the only way to use this light source and have your images with a neutral color balance is to set your cameras to Auto WB.

There’s one problem with shooting with auto white balance – the camera will change the white balance with EVERY photo you take. That means your color will shift around on you from image to image. I’m not OK with that, but I think it’s your only option with these CFL bulbs, unless you are an advanced user.

For those advanced users, if you are shooting RAW file format, you can always easily tweak your color temperature after you shoot. If you are shooting jpgs, you can tweak your color temperature, but depending on how far off your color temperature is in your shot, you might struggle to get it back to a neutral color, especially with fluorescent light.

So below is showing my favorite color temperature from each light:

There are very subtle difference between the two, which is normal when you switch lights like this.

Now, judging from the color, I’d say the CFL light worked great.

Remember when I said that the CFL light was much less bright than the manufacturer claimed? Well for the CFL light, I had to make my shutter speed slower to let in more light because I wanted to keep my F-Stop at 5.6 and I always set my ISO at 100 for the best quality.

Please note: You might be wondering if you could put the 500W Tungsten bulb in the LimoStudio soft box. DO NOT EVEN THINK OF DOING THIS. That light socket is only rated for 85W. I’m not even sure what would happen, but I do know it won’t be good.

Ok so here are the lights again:

Westcott Photo Basics 411 uLite and 20-Inch Soft Box. Amazon no longer sells this light. This does NOT come with the light stand that it shows. You have to get that separately along with the bulb. You can buy this light at Robert’s Camera. You can also get the bulb and stand there as well.

This is another light I like. It’s a bit larger, so it will cover a larger table area when shooting. It’s the Westcott uLite with 26″ Octabox. It’s $120, then you have to get the stand and the same bulb mentioned below.

Sylvania 11560 ECT 500W bulb. On Amazon it is about $5. I would get a few of these. Your local photo store might have these as well. That being said, I called Samy’s camera here in Los Angeles and was asking the guy on the phone about the CFL bulbs and he tried to tell me that Tungsten bulbs only last two hours!!! Which is complete horse hockey. Get’s me so angry when they lie like that. They don’t last as long as the CFL’s at all but they last way more than two hours! I totally called him out on that and actually told him he should be ashamed and that’s why my students hate going into camera stores.

Westcott 750 6.5 foot light stand. On Amazon this is $30. What’s important about a light stand is how wide the legs go out at the bottom. This stand was made for these lights mentioned. Adorama also has this stand.

And here is the LimoStudio 700W Kit. A lot of people have bought this kit. So you be the judge. If you didn’t watch my video, do not leave this light plugged in when you are not next to it. The stands are not heavy duty enough to hold the light if it just gets slightly tapped by an eager doggie tale, or possibly an affectionate, large kitty cat, it will fall over.

One last thing – you could use a daylight CFL light bulb in the Westcott softbox instead of the tungsten light bulb if you think the heat from the bulb will be an issue. Just remember they will be much darker than the tungsten light bulb. I’ve noticed these bulbs wildly vary in price. So for right now I do not have a recommendation for one, but I will soon.

So! There you have it. I hope this answers some questions for you about these two lights and why I recommend the one that’s more money.

Disclaimer: This post contains Amazon affiliate links. The Adorma links are not affiliate links. Should you choose to buy from Amazon, you will not pay more, Amazon will pay me a small commission. After after all this post took over three full days to put together for you!

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Christina has been shooting professionally for more than 25 years now and has specialized in shooting food for the last 15 years. She also teaches food photography with workshops and also her membership site Food Photography Club.

Ok, you had me at “horse hockey”!!! I’m glad you called him out on that because I have used those bulbs (and still do), and they do indeed last for more than two hours. I use the Westcott soft boxes and wouldn’t change a thing.

Thank you for clarifying good reasons not to bey the cheaper product. You gave very good comparisons of the two products, and as you said, there are safety issues, as well as manufacturing issues in buying cheap. Thank you!!!

You’re welcome Murray. I was very curious myself and if I had gotten a kit where both lights worked, I would have given a slightly better review. With electronics, sometimes it’s just too dangerous to buy the cheapest thing you can find. The light that I tried to “fix” with a screw driver would have started a fire for sure.

Great review and video Christina, thanks. I actually got the Westcott uLite with 26 In. Octabox on your suggestion last November after getting the “deal” of the LimoStudio. I also got the Tungsten 500w bulbs. Happy with your suggestions and had a question. Could you possibly do a post on another artificial light source using the Lowel Ego and another for comparison? Thanks!

Hi Kevin! So glad you like the light and I’m so sorry you got bit by the cheapo light. That’s a great suggestion! I know some bloggers are using the Ego – which fascinates me. Clearly a big food blogger started that train a while back. I was shocked when I heard bloggers using this. That will be a fun one to test.

Another fantastic post Christina, thank you! Did you seriously buy the LimoStudio just to do this review??? The thing with the Lowell is that it’s so compact, it’s handy for hobby bloggers with storage constraints 🙂 After reading the specs on it, I knew that getting 2 would be necessary unless I was only shooting up close. Plus I use giant reflectors – 2 x cardboard. I never got a soft box because I shoot in natural light 98% of the time so for the 2%, my Lowells do a decent job. I also like being able to use 1 lowell as the primary and 2nd as the secondary light source, I find I can better replicate natural light doing that. 🙂 Thanks again for this post, I read and reread it multiple times, I think you may have swayed me!

Hi Nagi! Yes, I sure did buy the lights just for this review. I think it’s important to know what people will have to go through when buying anything I recommend and I’m glad I did buy it to experience all that craziness. What I think is strange about the Lowell Ego is that it’s supposed to sit on the actual surface you are shooting on. This seems absurd to me. But, we’ll see! I’m going to test these lights as well. Let’s hope I have a better buying experience this time!

What about the fact that the Incandescent bulb is a hot light (temperature rather than color temperature) and the CFLs are cool. Do you find that the hot lots (especially since you leave them on all the time) has an effect on the life of the food on your set?

Hi Jerry, it really depends on what you are shooting and the temperature in the room. Yes, tungsten bulbs run hotter. I much rather get more brightness out of the light, as many food bloggers still don’t use tripods. That is why I’m suggest the hot light, the tungsten light. The point of this post was to make sure folks be very aware if they choose the LimoStudio light. I’m sure there are some better quality CFL lights out there and if they are properly made, they would be a great option for folks. I actually like to use hot lights in the winter, then in the summer months I use strobes or daylight.

Hi Christina, Well reviewed, more reviews like this will improve the quality of the cheaper items for people starting out without jeopardizing there safety. I suppose you could use a sand bag on the light stand but that would make it more inconvenient for slight position changes. Here in Australia Tungsten/incandescent bulbs are no longer available, we have to resort to Halogen, CFL or LED. Not sure about color temp of halogen but CFL & Good quality LED are fine but at a very steep price. Tungsten color temp will change as the bulb ages more so than others. What was the color temp difference of the of the soft box front panel, as the cheaper material can have a strange color cast from one panel to another. Good quality boxes & umbrellas etc from Westcott, Photix, Paul C Buff & all the big name brands will not vary from one panel to another, just another thing to consider when buying cheap. Safety is also a paramount concern with these cheap options. Always love reading your blog Cheers from Oz Peter

Hi Peter – thanks for telling me that the tungsten bulbs are no longer allowed in Australia. I had no idea. So you can easily use a CFL or maybe try one of those LED bulbs that Jeff mentioned in the comment here as well. My experience with the color temp changing on an aging tungsten is that it only happens noticeably right when it’s getting ready to go out – it gets much warmer. So I just get a new bulb. The color temp of the soft box silk panels were very consistent. The cheaper one was not made as nicely as the Westcott.

Hi Jeff! Glad to hear you’re coming back to us! I can understand the lights feeling too hot, but I’m not understanding the too bright thing as you’d just make your shutter speed faster to accommodate that. You can use a CFL in that light box as well. It will just me much darker. I’m not using LED’s – yet. The LED panels are great for video because they have less heat for sure, but they are pricey. I have not used those bulbs you show in the link – very interesting!!! Thanks for sharing that those! Maybe I’ll need to test them as well.

I ordered 1 Octobox, light stand and bulb(s) from your links after seeing the video and reading your reviews. Would you recommend having 2 octoboxes eventually? I’m in NJ and the Fall weather has really rolled in with darker days (seriously, it’s been raining all week it seems!) and there just isn’t the light that I need for my food photography that I had in the Summer and my cheapo artificial lights that I had before aren’t bright enough. I really hope this helps for when I have to shoot at night or lower light conditions. I did order some reflectors and a reflector stand as well. I just need my food to be lit! Thank you for your honest review, there is so much information out there and I just needed to cut through all that. I subscribed to your blog and will be looking for more reviews of equipment (Cameras,a light meter, etc.). I think all of your information will really help me improve my photography game. Thank you!

Hi Sara! The falls are so beautiful in NJ – and also very dark early in the day. My friend, you only need one light, one fill card and a TRIPOD. With a tripod there is no such thing as artificial lights not being bright enough. I know lots of folks hate using a tripod, but seriously, it frees up your hands to work on your shot. I have taken many pictures with very dark natural light and a shutter speed of 30 seconds, on a tripod. The shutter being open longer is one way get more light in your photos. Jacking up your ISO will bring digital noise into your photos. A tripod is a great tool and many bloggers don’t realize how fabulous it can be for you.

Thanks so much for this post. I’ve been looking for a constant light for ages and not been able to decide from what is available in Australia. Your post saved me from making a terrible mistake as the light I was looking at was similar to the Limo Studio kit and had a HUGE bulb. Thanks.

Hi Christina, I eventually purchased an Edgelight LED light – http://www.protog.com.au/brand/edgelight/173 I think it will work well for me. It is fully dimable and temperature of the light can be adjusted. Thanks Christina.

Hi there! I'm Christina Peters, food photographer, teacher, and blogger. I live in LA, shoot anywhere and I love all things food. I've been shooting professionally for more than 25 years and I also teach food photography classes. I blog about photography tips and tricks. I also crave Maryland crab cakes daily. Read More…